At least 4 dead in apparent Colorado murder-suicide

The dead included two men and two women, including one who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s.

A police car sits in front of a home in Longmont, Weld County, Colorado, as pictured in this handout aerial image taken Dec. 18, courtesy of thedenverchannel.com.

By:Dan ElliottThe Associated Press, Published on Tue Dec 18 2012

LONGMONT, COLO.—Four people were found dead Tuesday in Colorado after a woman called police to report a shooting and was apparently shot to death while she was on the phone.

Weld County sheriff’s spokesman Tim Schwartz says dispatchers heard the woman who called 911 scream “No, no, no,” and then they heard a gunshot. Schwartz says a man grabbed the phone and said he was going to kill himself, and dispatchers heard another shot.

The bodies were found in a home in a subdivision east of Longmont, north of Denver.

The dead included two men and two women, including one who appeared to be in her late teens or early 20s.

Schwartz says investigators have a possible motive for the shootings, but he refused to release details.

Schwartz said he didn’t think anyone escaped alive. He did not know whether all four of the people lived in the home, and he was not sure whether there had been any previous calls to police asking for help.

A handgun believed to be murder weapon was recovered. Police said numerous rounds had been fired from the gun, but further details were not available. Police said they are convinced the gunman was one of the victims.

A neighbour, Joyce Vibbert, said she heard three gunshots early Tuesday and got up to look out her bedroom window. She said she couldn’t see anything, but she heard a woman screaming.

“It was just screaming. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. It was just screaming,” she said.

Desirae Swazoe said she awoke shortly after 4 a.m. and heard a voice shouting over and over, “Weld County Sheriff’s Department! Open the back door! Do it now!”

Kathy Tubb said she heard what she thought were gunshots about 4 a.m. Tuesday and had no idea what was happening.

Tubb said when she went outside to warm up her husband’s car to go to work, she saw a policeman wearing a helmet and armed with a rifle standing in the street.

Fearing there might be a gunman still on the loose, she thought, “Oh my God, how can I get back in the house before he starts shooting.” She said waited until the officer left before she felt safe.

On Tuesday, the home with a well-groomed yard still had Christmas lights shining. A sheriff’s department command post bus was parked outside.

Authorities sought a search warrant to before continuing their investigation.